*old-timer pokes head in*

*adds to killfile*

*waves hi to everyone else*

Hey folks. I have a Summer Bounty question.

Between my CSA box and I-couldn't-pass-it-up deal at Trader Joe's, I have
a LOT of heirloom tomatoes, and two huge bunches of basil, and a lot of
garlic.

One of my very favorite tomato-season dishes - this ranks with a BLT and
the panzanella, folks - is a pasta dish where the no-cook sauce is a
combination of raw tomatoes that have been sliced and left to get
acquainted with olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. Fresh soft goat
cheese gets added to the hot pasta and mixing it all together makes the
sauce.

I love this stuff. Sometimes I get a hankering for it in wintertime, and
get roasted tomatoes from the Wonderful Italian Deli.

So I have a new fridge, and the freezer actually has room. (I also,
um, kinda just got laid off and am interested in putting food up for
future consumption to be thrifty.) I'm interested in how successful
freezing the tomato-basil-olive oil-garlic "marinated" mixture would be.
(With or without capers, which I add at serving time.)

I'm thinking "make up a bunch, fridge it for a day or so so it gets good
and garlicky, and then put it into pint jars and freeze". Goat cheese
added at time of consumption.

I don't care if the texture gets a little off once thawed (I'm going to
be mixing it in pretty vigorously anyway), or the basil goes black, if it
still tastes GOOD LIKE SUMMER.

Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing, or have insights
into general processes? And, capers now or later?

Thanks,

Charlotte
--

On Aug 10, 10:26*am, (Charlotte L. Blackmer)
wrote:
> [snip]
> One of my very favorite tomato-season dishes - this ranks with a BLT and
> the panzanella, folks - is a pasta dish where the no-cook sauce is a
> combination of raw tomatoes that have been sliced and left to get
> acquainted with olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. *Fresh soft goat
> cheese gets added to the hot pasta and mixing it all together makes the
> sauce. *
> [snip]
> I'm interested in how successful
> freezing the tomato-basil-olive oil-garlic "marinated" mixture would be. *
> (With or without capers, which I add at serving time.)
>
> I'm thinking "make up a bunch, fridge it for a day or so so it gets good
> and garlicky, and then put it into pint jars and freeze". *Goat cheese
> added at time of consumption.
>
> I don't care if the texture gets a little off once thawed (I'm going to
> be mixing it in pretty vigorously anyway), or the basil goes black, if it
> still tastes GOOD LIKE SUMMER.
>
> Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing, or have insights
> into general processes? And, capers now or later? *
>
I've never tried to freeze something like you describe. Sounds like
it would be mush when thawed. I have frozen whole, raw tomatoes
pretty successfully. Slowly thawed, they retain a little bit, enough
for your purposes I'd think, of their structure (and the peel just
slips off). In your place, I'd freeze the tomatoes whole and make up
your dish after slowly thawing them. -aem

In article >,
(Charlotte L. Blackmer) wrote:
> Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing, or have insights
> into general processes? And, capers now or later?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Charlotte
> --

Go for it. The texture of the tomatoes will probably suffer but taste
should be fine. Just my preference, but I'd add the capers later.

The job thing sucks.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Yes, I Can! blog - check it out
Lots of new stuff in the last couple days.

Charlotte wrote:

> the no-cook sauce is a combination of raw tomatoes that have been sliced
> and left to get acquainted with olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. Fresh
> soft goat cheese gets added to the hot pasta and mixing it all together
> makes the sauce.
<snip>
> I'm thinking "make up a bunch, fridge it for a day or so so it gets good
> and garlicky, and then put it into pint jars and freeze". Goat cheese
> added at time of consumption.
>
> I don't care if the texture gets a little off once thawed (I'm going to
> be mixing it in pretty vigorously anyway), or the basil goes black, if it
> still tastes GOOD LIKE SUMMER.
>
> Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing, or have insights
> into general processes? And, capers now or later?

It should be good, and depending on how quickly it freezes, the basil might
even stay green. To freeze it quickly, you might try ice-cube trays or
pouring it into a flat pan and then scraping out the frozen stuff once it's
frozen: The larger the surface area, the quicker it'll freeze.

For long-term storage you'll want to remove as much air as possible. If
you've got a Foodsaver you'll want to use it; otherwise put the frozen stuff
into a ziploc bag, close it almost all the way, and then use a straw to suck
out as much remaining air as possible.

I'd leave the capers out: They will be just as good staying in the fridge as
they'd be in the freezer, and there might be some occasion when you just
don't feel like adding them.

Bob

In article >,
Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>Charlotte wrote:
>
>> the no-cook sauce is a combination of raw tomatoes that have been sliced
>> and left to get acquainted with olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil. Fresh
>> soft goat cheese gets added to the hot pasta and mixing it all together
>> makes the sauce.
><snip>
>> I'm thinking "make up a bunch, fridge it for a day or so so it gets good
>> and garlicky, and then put it into pint jars and freeze". Goat cheese
>> added at time of consumption.
>>
>> I don't care if the texture gets a little off once thawed (I'm going to
>> be mixing it in pretty vigorously anyway), or the basil goes black, if it
>> still tastes GOOD LIKE SUMMER.
>>
>> Does anyone here have experience with this kind of thing, or have insights
>> into general processes? And, capers now or later?
>
>It should be good, and depending on how quickly it freezes, the basil might
>even stay green. To freeze it quickly, you might try ice-cube trays or
>pouring it into a flat pan and then scraping out the frozen stuff once it's
>frozen: The larger the surface area, the quicker it'll freeze.
>
>For long-term storage you'll want to remove as much air as possible. If
>you've got a Foodsaver you'll want to use it; otherwise put the frozen stuff
>into a ziploc bag, close it almost all the way, and then use a straw to suck
>out as much remaining air as possible.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice.

I'm getting around the leaf issue by whizzing the basil leaves with some
olive oil and the garlic; basically the tomatoes have been marinating in
a very loose pesto-like substance. The fridge smells great.

Gotta put them in the freezer today. Was thinking of packing them in the
widemouth freezer jars I got, but the baggie suggestion sounds good. I
don't have a food saver.

Charlotte
--

On Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:43:38 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>Try the Reynolds or Ziplock vacuum sealer...it's available in the
>grocery stores for a very inexpensive price. Like about $10. Comes
>with some starter bags... I have been using that lately, with good

I bought those for hubby and son a couple of years ago when it was
discussed here in rfc. Hubby put his away and never looked at it
again, but son uses his all the time and loves it!


--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.